A Herefordshire businesswoman is jetting off to the other side of the world to expound the virtues of her homeland to Japanese tourism operators.

Juliet Williams runs the award-winning Lowe Farm bed and breakfast, in Pembridge, which often hosts groups of Japanese academics keen to learn all about this country's farmhouse bed and breakfasts, the local produce and green tourism.

Now they have asked Juliet to visit their country and speak in front of thousands of aspiring bed and breakfast owners about her experiences of running her own business.

She opened the bed and breakfast nine years ago after a severe and chronic allergy forced her then job.

She immediately went on a start-up course offered by the then Herefordshire and Worcestershire Training and Enterprise Council.

Further training followed in food hygiene, computing and marketing and she recently underwent a business diagnostic from the Regional Centre for Tourism Business Support (RCTBS).

A Defra grant saw the business expand from a peak of 113 bed spaces a month to 227 a month in just one year.

Three years ago Juliet was approached by Professor Shinji Aoki, who heads up a team of Japanese researchers keen to learn all about how rural tourism in this country operates.

Every year she hosts a different group of students and enjoys taking them around the suppliers from which she buys her own produce, including the September Organic Dairy, Monkland Cheese, Oakchurch Farm and Marston Meats.

Now, she has been asked to speak at four separate symposiums on rural tourism during a 10-day tour of Japan in November.

Farmers, councils and tourism operators will take the lessons learned and apply them to their own rural tourism industry.

"Professor Shinji Aoki picked me because of the business skills I have, due to the fact I have been out to work for so many years," said Juliet, whose four-star Gold Quality bed and breakfast has won a string of awards, including coming third in the regional finals of last year's England for Excellence (E4E) Awards in the Best B&B' category.

"I have spent many years working in offices and all those skills I learned have come together.

"My business is professional - hard work and determination have made my business so successful - and I'm a good cook as well, according to the visitors!"